Loom attachment for weaving slide-fastener elements onto tapes



Nov. 25, 1969 R. DAL NEGRO LOOM ATTACHMENT FOR WEAVING SLIDE-FASTENER ELEMENTS ONTO TAPES 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 27, 1967 INVENTOR P066590 0,41. NEG/90 {Kari was:

ATTORNEY Nov. 25, 1969 R. DAL NEGRO LOOM ATTACHMENT FOR WEAVING SLIDE-FASTENER ELEMENTS ONTO TAPES 3 Sheets-Sheet :2

Filed July 27, 1967 INVENTOR P066590 DAL NEGRO ATTORNEY Nov. 25. 1969 Filed July 27, 1967 R. DAL NEGRO LOOM ATTACHMENT FOR WEAVING SLIDE-FASTENER ELEMENTS ONTO TAPES 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 NVENTOR P066590 0AA /V6"?0 BY r Jim-Z "T" ATTORNEY- United States Patent Ofice 3,480,045 Patented Nov. 25, 1969 US. Cl. 139116 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE In a loom set up for the weaving of a stringer tape designed to carry a helically coiled slide-fastener element, a retaining attachment is provided which releasably engages the Weft thread at a point laterally offset from the warp, adjacent an edge to which the fastener element is to be secured and approximately in line with the fell of the, cloth, a weft carrier (such as a needle or a shuttle) entering the shed from that edge and entraining the weft thread while holding it clear of the fastener element; as the weft carrier approaches or reaches the end of its traverse, the attachment releases the weft thread which thereupon enters between turns of the coiled element near the fell. Upon the return of the weft carrier, an extension of the lay re-engages the projecting part of the weft thread with the retaining attachment as the previously inserted filling is beaten against the cloth.

My present invention relates to the weaving of stringer tapes for slide-fastener elements of the helically coiled type and, more particularly, to a loom having means for attaching such a fastener element to an edge of a tape in the process of weaving the latter.

The general object of my invention is to provide, in a loom of this character, means for effectively preventing any premature engagement of a weft thread, designed to secure the fastener coil to the lengthening tape, with turns of the coil at a point which may not be in line with the fell of the cloth so that the fastener element may be objectionably deformed in the process.

A more particular object of this invention is to provide a simple attachment for the purpose described which may be fitted on a conventional loom without necessitating major modifications of same.

These objects are realized, pursuant to my present invention, by the provision of a loom attachment engageable with the weft thread at a point laterally offset from the set of warp threads and adjacent an edge to which the fastener element is to be secured, this point being substantially in line with the fell of the cloth; with the fastener element moving alongside the warp threads Which are periodically shedded in the usual manner, the attachment temporarily engages the weft thread while its carrier, such as a needle or a shuttle, enters the shed from the side of the aforementioned edge. After the weft carrier has entrained the weft thread across the fastener element and the warp threads to insert a filling into the shed, and at or toward the end of its traverse, the attachment releases the weft thread so that this thread is allowed to enter between two turns of the coil near the fell of the cloth. Immediately thereafter, following the return of the weft-carrying needle (or before such return if a shuttle is used as the carrier), the lay of the loom beats the previously inserted filling against the fell whereupon the weft thread is locked to the warp by the reversing shed and holds the fastener coil in position along the edge of the fabric.

According to a more particular feature of my invention,

the weft-engaging attachment comprises a pair of resiliently contacting clamping jaws having aligned apertures for the passage of a pin serving as a positive detent for the thread during the insertion stroke of the weft carrier. These jaws may have diverging ends forming a flaring mouth which faces in the direction of the oncoming lay to receive an extension thereof which helps introduce the weft thread between the jaws as the lay beats up the previously inserted filling. With the weft carrier advantageously in the form of a curved needle reciprocating in a plane which bisects the angle between the upper and the lower warp of the shed, and with the gripper jaws meeting in the same plane, the weft thread is held clear of the turns of the fastener coil whether the latter happens to be in its raised or in its lowered position.

The invention will be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG, 1 is a perspective and somewhat diagrammatic view of an apparatus embodying my invention;

FIG. 2 is a side-elevational view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1; and

FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 are plane views of the apparatus during successive stages of a weaving operation.

In FIGS. 1 and 2 I have shown part of a mostly conventional tape-weaving loom 20 having a bed 2 for the support of a fabric F, specifically a stringer tape, which is being woven from a set of warp threads 4 and a continuous weft thread 5 passing through an eye 6' at the tip of a needle 6. A helically coiled fastener element 3, e.g. of plastic material, moves alongside a longitudinal edge of the set of warp threads 4 and the stringer tape F to which it is being secured by the weaving process. Coil 3 may be guided by suitable means, such as a special heddle of the loom harness (not shown), and is entrained through its anchorage to the lengthening fabric F. In the position illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, in which a shed is formed between upper warp threads 4 and lower warp threads 4", coil 3 extends alongside the lower warp threads; during successive weaving cycles, however, the coil 3 alternates between the lower and upper boundaries of the shed. Needle 6 is reciprocable, by conventional mechanism not further illustrated, across the shed which it enters from the side of the edge adjoining the fastener coil 3.

In accordance with my present invention, I provide on the loom bed 2 an attachment 1 comprising a pair of resilient clamping jaws 1, 1" having a plane of contact P which substantially bisects the angle of the shed and coincides with the level of reciprocation of weft needle 6. Jaws 1, 1" diverge in the direction of the oncoming lay through whose reed 15 the warp threads 4', 4 pass. These weft-retaining jaws are further provided with aligned apertures 7 (FIG. 35) accommodating a curved detent pin 8 which is mounted on a swingable arm 11 controlled by an eccentric 10 on a continuously rotating shaft 9; the operation of this shaft is synchronized with the reciprocation of needle 6 in such a way that pin 8 is elevated, passing through the holes 7, as the needle 6 moves into the shed and across the warp 4 (FIG. 4), the needle being then lowered beneath the plane of the warp threads as (or just before) the needle 6 completes its inserting stroke. Arm 11 is pivoted at 12 to the loom frame 13. The positions of attachment 1 and pin 8 may be slightly varied, upon a loosening of mounting screws 14 therefor, with reference to a traverse line L (FIG. 4) which represents the fell of the cloth. The tape-weaving mechanism also includes a selvedge needle 16 (FIGS. 3-5) which, in conventional manner, temporarily engages the weft thread 5 after a forward swing of the needle 6 (FIG. 4) and during the return stroke thereof (FIG. 5) to form a knitted selvedge on one' side of the stringer tape F.

To help lodge the weft thread 5 between the clamping jaws 1' and 1, the lay is provided with an extension 15' which is mounted adjacent an end of reed 15 and whose bifurcate, depending end forms a pair of prongs straddling these jaws during the beat-up stroke of FIG. 3 while the needle 6 is withdrawn from the warp. As the reed 15 recedes, pin 8 rises to lock the Weft thread in position between the jaws 1', 1" while the needle 6 moves into the shed. As best seen in FIG. 4, which represents a cycle following the one illustrated in FIG. 1 (i.e. with coil 3 lying above the needle path), the weft thread 5 is thereby drawn into a loop 5' around the pin 8 and in the plane P (FIG. 2) so that the portion thereof extending toward the needle eye 6' is held clear of the turns of coil 3. This condition exists until the needle 6 approaches or reaches the end of its insertion stroke (FIG. 4), whereupon pin 8 is withdrawn (FIG. 5) and the combined motion of insertion needle 6 and selvedge needle 16 draws the thread 5 taut to eliminate the loop 5'. At that instant the weft thread 5 enters, from above or below, between adjoining turns of coil 3 which is thereby anchored to the fabric as the lay 15 moves forwardly for the next beat-up stroke (FIG. 3).

From FIGS. 2 and 3 it will be apparent that the extremities of lay extension 15', whose notched weft-engaging tips are bent back toward the lay 15, come to lie in the plane P in an operative lay position in which the previously inserted filling (a part of the continuous weft thread 5) is being beaten against the fell of the woven cloth forming the tape F.

It will be seen that shifting of the point of engagement of weft thread 5 by the clamp 1 and the detent 8, with reference to line L of FIG. 4, may vary the number of turns of coil 3 engaged by successive passes of weft thread 5.

Naturally, structural details of the arrangement described and illustrated may be modified in various ways without departing from the scope and spirit of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a loom for weaving a stringer tape for a slidefastener element, in combination:

mechanism for longitudinally advancing a set of warp threads, forming said warp threads into a shed and moving a helically coiled fastener element along an edge of said set of warp threads in step with the latter;

a weft carrier reciprocable across said set of warp threads to insert into said shed a filling forming part of a continuous weft thread;

a lay having a reed for beating said filling against the i fell of a cloth woven from said warp threads and said weft thread;

a pair of resiliently contacting clamping jaws disposed at a location laterally offset from said set of warp threads adjacent said edge, said jaws meeting in a plane substantially bisecting the angle of upper and lower warp threads forming said shed and being provided with aligned apertures substantially in line with the fell of the cloth;

detent means including a retractable pin insertable into said apertures for retaining said weft thread between said jaws from an instant just prior to introduction of said weft carrier into said shed from the side of said edge and for reelasing said weft thread from said jaws substantially at the end of the traverse of said shed by said weft carrier whereby said weft thread enters between turns of said fastener element preparatorily to a return of said weft carrier;

and an extension of said lay located in said plane on one side of said reed for engagement with said weft thread to insert same between said jaws during beating of said filling against the fell of the cloth following a return movement of the weft carrier across said edge and past said jaws.

2. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said weft carrier comprises a needle having a tip in engagement with said weft thread, said needle being reciprocable substantially in said plane. 9

3. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said jaws are provided with adjustable mounting means for limitedly varying the distance between the point of retention of said weft thread and the fell of the cloth.

4. The combination defined in claim 3 wherein said weft carrier comprises a needle having a tip in engagement with said weft thread, said needle being reciprocable substantially in said plane.

5. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said extension is provided with diverging extremities having notched weft-engaging tips bent back toward said weft thread and straddling said jaws in said operative position.

6. The combination defined in claim 5 wherein said carrier comprises a needle having a tip in engagement with said weft thread, said needle being reciprocable substantially in said plane.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,389,808 11/1945 Moessinger 139-494 3,123,103 3/1964 Hendley 1-3911 FOREIGN PATENTS 908,121 10/ 1962 Great Britain.

HENRY S. IAUDON, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 139-124.1 

